There are two ways to get your website files onto the server: an FTP client, or the file manager built into Plesk. FTP is the better choice for large numbers of files or regular work; the file manager is convenient for quick changes without installing anything.
Uploading over FTP
You need three things to connect:
- Server address — the host name of your server, in the form vm00000.sayob.com, where vm00000 is the identifier of your server. You can also use your own domain name, provided it already points to the server.
- User name — the system user of the subscription. You will find it in Websites & Domains → Hosting & DNS → Web Hosting Access, in the Username field.
- Password — the password of that system user. If you do not know it, you can set a new one on the same page.
You will also need an FTP client. FileZilla and WinSCP are both free and widely used.
Use an encrypted connection. Choose FTPS (explicit TLS) or SFTP in your client rather than plain FTP: over plain FTP, your user name and password travel in clear text. FTPS uses port 21 with explicit encryption; SFTP uses port 22.
Connecting by the server host name is the more reliable option: it works even while your domain is still pointing elsewhere, and it matches the server's certificate, so your client will not warn you about a name mismatch.
Website files belong in the httpdocs directory of the domain. Anything placed outside it will not be served.
Additional FTP accounts
If someone else needs access to the files — a developer, for example — create a separate FTP account for them under Websites & Domains → FTP Access, rather than sharing the system user's credentials. Such an account can be restricted to a single directory and removed when it is no longer needed.
Using the file manager
Open the Files tab in Plesk. From there you can:
- Upload — open the target folder and use the upload button.
- Download — use the context menu next to the file and choose Download.
- Create an archive — select the files and folders and use Add to Archive.
- Extract an archive — select the archive and use Extract Files. ZIP archives are supported.
- Edit a file — use the context menu next to the file and choose the code editor, the HTML editor or the plain text editor.
When uploading many files, pack them into a ZIP archive first, upload the single archive and extract it on the server. Uploading files one by one through a browser is many times slower, and a dropped connection halfway through leaves you having to work out which files arrived.
If a file does not upload
Uploads through the file manager are subject to a maximum file size and a script execution time limit, so large files may fail. Use FTP for those — it has no such limits and can resume an interrupted transfer.
If you cannot connect over FTP at all, check that your client is set to FTPS or SFTP and that the user name and password are correct. If the problem persists, open a ticket from your client area.
